Murphy has a big chip on his shoulder

All the buzz at the Raiders organized workouts this spring has been about rookie Juron Criner and the other receivers, and Louis Murphy returned to practice this week with something to prove.

Back from a hamstring injury, Murphy knows some see him as being on the way down the depth chart and is up for the challenge.

“It’s a crucial year for me and I am just accepting it with open arms,” he said.

An old man now at 25, Murphy had sports hernia surgery at the start of last season and only finished with 15 catches for 241 yards. He had a few drops and was even behind short-timer T.J. Houshmandzadeh at the end of the last season. Worse, he could hear the scouts and the fans, his beloved RaiderNation, casting him off as not part of the team’s future.

“Yeah, I have a big chip on my shoulder,” Murphy said. “I have a lot to prove. I hear the outside talking and it’s just part of me, with my mentality, that I have a lot to prove. Even if I don’t, I just feel like I do.”

He said he played hurt last season — “I never really got back to 100 percent. I just wanted to help the team out any way possible and I just gave it my best.” — and admittedly had a tough time adjusting to new quarterback Carson Palmer. He and last year’s starter, Jason Campbell, are particularly close friends.

But Murphy said he worked out with Palmer in the offseason and is excited about the new Houston Texans offense and how it gets playmakers like himself involved and chances to make big plays.

“I just want to make sure I come out & make plays,” said Murphy, who had 1,130 yards and six touchdowns his first two seasons combined. “I haven’t played my best ball & I know that those years are ahead of me.”